Site description
A portion of the Taley Valley Reserved Forest in Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh with an area of 337 sq. km. was declared as a wildlife sanctuary on July 14, 1995. The area of the Reserve Forest is c. 51,587 ha. We have considered the whole Reserve Forest and the Wildlife Sanctuary as an IBA.The Valley proper lies about 30 km away from the district headquarters, Hapoli.The area lies between the Subansiri, Supu and Pange rivers.It is surrounded by gentle sloping hills, clothed densely with thick vegetation. There are two main valleys: the Pange Valley and the Taley Valley. Small rivers, flowing through these valleys, have formed deep gorges and rapid waterfalls. The smaller streams drain into the Subansiri river which ultimately joins the mighty Brahmaputra. The hills are gently sloping, except for a few peaks that are very steep. The following forest types are found in Taley Valley area: East Himalayan Subtropical Forest, East Himalayan Wet Temperate Forest, Lauraceae Forest, Oak Forest, High-level Oak Forest and East Himalayan Mixed Coniferous Forest (Haridasan et al. 1999). The site is a refuge to a few rare and endangered plants, and abounds with economically important plants. Tale Valley is also known for dense growth of bamboo. Five species of bamboo are recorded of which Pleioblastus simonii is known in India only from here (Haridasan et al.1999). Taxus baccata, the Yew tree, that has come under increasing pressure from illegal collectors due to its medicinal property is still seen in Taley Valley. Taley Valley shows some very interesting phenomena as far as vegetation is concerned. Normally, in altitudinal succession of vegetation types, coniferous forest appears above the broadleaf type. Here, it is the reverse. The coniferous forest appears in the valleys, while broadleaf trees are seen on the hilltops. Some plants found in the area are extremely rare and highly endangered. Some like Paphiopedilum wardii are believed to be extinct. Yet others are known only from restricted localities in Arunachal Pradesh, that too only for a limited time. Some species, that are locally abundant, are rare at the national or global level. In such instances, we need to make greater efforts to conserve the plants for the benefit of mankind (Haridasan et al. 1999).

Key biodiversity

AVIFAUNA: About 159 bird species have been recorded in Taley Valley WLS so far (Singh 1994). Most of these species breed here, enhancing the importance of this IBA site. The only globally threatened species confirmed from this area is the Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis. Presence of Blyth’s Tragopan Tragopan blythii, another threatened species, has yet to be confirmed, though the related, Temminck’s Tragopan Tragopan temminckii is reported. A few notable bird records from this IBA site are the Purple Cochoa Cochoa purpurea, the only record of the species from Arunachal Pradesh (Singh 1994). This rare species is reported to breed in Taley Valley forests. A record of Yellow-rumped Honeyguide Indicator xanthonotus is the second record of the species from the state.

The Eurasian Tree-creeper Certhia familiaris, a bird of the Western Himalaya, was first noted by Singh (1994) from Taley Valley, which is a considerable eastward extension of its range in the Himalaya. Another first record from Arunachal Pradesh is that of the Silver-backed Needletail Hirundapus cochinchinensis. It was seen by Singh (1994) in March 1994 at an elevation of 2,400 m.

Of the 21 species recorded in India in the Eastern Himalayas EBA (Stattersfield et al. 1998) 10 have been reported from this IBA. There are not many IBAs in this EBA where so many Restricted Range species are found

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The Taley valley is famous for rare and elusive cats such as the Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa and Golden Cat Catopuma temmincki. Some other mammals found in the area are Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard P. pardus, Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis, Capped Langur Trachypithecus pileatus, Asiatic Black Bear Ursusthibetanus and Chinese pangolin Manis crassicaudata.